FRESH PACK-OXEN 227 



palms, with heads which the winds had dishevelled until 

 they looked like mops. It was evidently a fine natural 

 cattle country, and we soon began to see scores, perhaps 

 hundreds, of the cattle belonging to the government 

 ranch at Tres Burity, which we reached in the early 

 afternoon. It is beautifully situated : the view round 

 about is lovely, and certainly the land will prove healthy 

 when settlements have been definitely established. Here 

 we revelled in abundance of good fresh milk and eggs ; 

 and for dinner we had chicken canja and fat beef roasted 

 on big wooden spits ; and we even had 'watermelons. 

 The latter were from seeds brought down by the 

 American engineers who built the Madeira - Marmord 

 Railroad — a work which stands honourably distinguished 

 among the many great and useful works done in the 

 development of the tropics of recent years. 



AmUcar's pack-oxen, which were nearly worn out, had 

 been left in these fertile pastures. Most of the fresh 

 oxen which he took in their places were unbroken, and 

 there was a perfect circus before they were packed and 

 marched off; in every direction, said the gleeful narrators, 

 there were bucking oxen and loads strewed on the ground. 

 This cattle-ranch is managed by the Colonel's uncle, his 

 mother's brother, a hale old man of seventy, white- 

 haired but as active and vigorous as ever ; with a fine, 

 kindly, intelligent face. His name is Miguel Evangalista. 

 He is a native of Matto Grosso, of practically pure 

 Indian blood, and was dressed in the ordinary costume 

 of the caboelo — hat, shirt, trousers, and no shoes or 

 stockings. Within the last year he had killed three 

 jaguars, which had been living on the mules ; as long as 

 they could get mules they did not at this station molest 

 the cattle. 



It was with this uncle's father, Colonel Rondon's own 



